Casey Mittelstadt’s first full season with the Avalanche hasn’t gone as well as anyone would have hoped. Acquired at the trade deadline last year for Bowen Byram in a move that was intended to stabilize their center depth, the 26-year-old has instead had some struggles, notching just eight goals and 18 assists through 46 games despite logging nearly 18 minutes a night. That has led some to wonder if the Avs might need to make a move to upgrade that spot again. However, Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette argues that selling low on Mittelstadt probably isn’t the right move. For starters, there aren’t many prominent middlemen expected to be made available in the coming weeks while Colorado isn’t exactly loaded with trade chips and they’d have to use some to upgrade on Mittelstadt. Those chips might be better served being used to fill other needs so the most prudent course of action for the Avalanche may be to hope that Mittelstadt can work his way out of his first-half struggles.